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The STVR’s in Single Family Neighborhoods, take away from placing families in our schools, joining community groups, and knowing our neighbors.

Councilmember Barbara Bry will propose regulations for short-term vacation rentals at a town hall this Wednesday.Wednesday, Aug. 30th 6:00pm -7:30pm La Jolla Community Center
6811 La Jolla Blvd.
RSVP to:barbarabry@sandiego.gov. Seating is limited and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please arrive early to find street parking in advance of the meeting.For the record, home sharing is not being threatened.

Save San Diego Neighborhoods (SSDN) has been working diligently, on saving our neighboroods from Short Term Vacation Rentals (STVR). SSDN is continually in contact with decision makers and the latest development. http://www.savesandiegoneighborhoods.org/
This excerpt is from a recent SSDN email:
“Three vital protections lie at the heart of the short-term vacation rental issue in San Diego. Whatever government action moves us closer to safeguarding these three protections is what, we believe, the vast, vast majority of people want. Those three protections are:

The protection for home owners to be able to legally earn extra income by renting out rooms in their homes while they live there.
The protection for neighbors to have the city quickly end abuses, including noise and other nuisances, caused by home sharing and home swapping.

The protection for residential neighborhoods to remain residential neighborhoods. Communities must not be transformed into hollowed-out tourist havens because of conversions to owner-absent vacation rental lodging businesses by the investor class of STVR operators.”

The City’s Planning Department and local groups are working on future plans for Mission Bay Park. This is the 4th meeting in a series of Ad Hoc meetings held by the City’s De Anza Revitalization Plan project team**. This meeting will include discussion of the existing conditions and issues and constraints for natural resources and other environmental conditions.

**The City of San Diego Park Planning Section is responsible for the planning of park and recreational policies and standards consistent with the Recreational Element of the City’s General Plan (2008). The policies and standards define how to preserve, protect, acquire, develop, operate, maintain, and enhance public recreation opportunities and facilities throughout the City for all users. Recreational facilities include neighborhood and community park facilities, resource-based parks, and open space lands. De Anza Revitalization meetings and topic schedule: http://media.wix.com/ugd/f309e9_f3e5698c7aea49e3bc8ff467117ab162.pdf

A bike ride on the boardwalk from Mission Beach to Pacific Beach was held on January 30th to show support for renting locally and to protest some DecoBike locations. In particular, residents and businesses were protesting these locations:• Installed on the boardwalk • In front of or near local bike shops and businesses that also rent bikes.

A sizable crowd attending riding bikes provided by our local businesses. More to com…

Background: The first bike sharing location arrived in San Diego in January of last year. For over a year prior, representatives from the City and DecoBike worked with Mission Beach and Pacific Beach community groups on how to integrate a bike share program. There were many meetings to vet issues including the impact on local small businesses, safety, convenience, parking and traffic congestion along with the needs of Deco Bikes to ensure a successful business model for bike share.

The DecoBike company simply ignored a list of acceptable locations which had already been agreed to.

This is one of the final meetings that will decide whether Short-term Vacation Rentals will be regulated or not regulated in our neighborhoods.It is Critical that Residents show up in force on Dec 3! The Planning Commission vote will have great influence on the upcoming final City Council decision! Everyone who cares about this issue should attend. Please bring neighbors and friends too!
See information on parking and transportation at bottom of email.

For the last two years, the PB Planning Group, the PB Business Improvement District (Discover PB) and the PB Town Council had been working with the Deco Bikes Corporation to agree upon locations for the bike corrals. They had identified and agreed upon a few locations, but at a meeting two weeks ago, Deco Bikes said they planned to put the bikes on the boardwalk. All PB groups opposed this plan as it would take away from established local businesses, block the stunning views, crowd the boardwalk and not benefit the community of PB at all. In spite of the opposition from every group in PB, Deco Bikes came last Friday, removed benches, and installed two bike corrals, over 80 feet on the west side of the boardwalk one block from each other, obstructing views of the ocean in between the pier and south to the life guard tower. There are also locations at the foot of Pacific Beach Drive, Thomas and Grand Avenue and more boardwalk stalls to come.

We are supportive of bikes, but the boardwalk locations are not convenient and crowd the boardwalk for visitors and residents. This Miami, Florida based corporation is taking up precious space on our boardwalk to rent out bikes to tourists. Pacific Beach already has many local business that provide rental bike service.

HOW YOU CAN HELP. A local grassroots group has multiple strategies to get the bikes removed and to keep more from being installed. There has been great press coverage over the last few days, but in spite of the vocal fury over the unexpected installations, the city has been unresponsive.

Thank you to all who took time to attend the April 22nd meeting, send an email, make a phone call, and/or spread the word. At the meeting, there were hundreds of people, both for and against vacation rentals – so many that not all speakers had time to speak before the meeting ended.

On May 29, first to speak will be those who submitted speaker slips on April 22 but did not get to speak. NEW SPEAKERS will be allowed too. (Those who spoke on April 22 will not get to speak on May 29, but it is important for you to come again to show your support!)

It is Critical that Residents show up in force on May 29! It will have a big impact on how the City Council votes!
Everyone who cares about this issue should attend. Please bring neighbors and friends too!See information on parking and transportation at bottom of email.

What You Can Do:* Come to the meeting to show your concern. Speak if you wish.* Email your comments to City Officials* Forward this email to friends and neighbors* Visit SaveSanDiegoNeighborhoods.org to get more information

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Important Information about Meeting:Arrive early for best parking and seating options

Public Comment: Due to the large turn-out expected, speakers will be limited to 1 minute each. You can have more time if other people fill out a slip and “cede” their time to you. Speaker slips are available at the back of the room and must be filled out and placed in the “Speaker Slip” box near the speakers podium.Security: You will be going through metal detectors in the lobby, so no knives, scissors, etc.

Transportation: If you drive, try to carpool. The 30 bus goes directly from Pacific Beach to a block from City Hall. Or you can catch the trolley at Linda Vista or Old Town and get off at the Santa Fe Depot and walk a few blocks to City Hall (or transfer to the trolley that goes to City Hall).

Parking: There are numerous surface parking lots in the area that charge $10-15 a day. The Community Concourse and Civic Center Parking structures are very close and charge $18 a day (take Front Street offramp from I-5, turn left on ‘A’ Street, go past First Avenue and then turn right into parking structure.

Wednesday, March 18th 6:30-8:30 pm 4033 Ingraham St.
This Wednesday’s PB Town Council meeting will have someone speaking on future plans for a YMCA in Pacific Beach. (More about joint venture below)

As always, you’ll have an opportunity to make public comments. You will also hear reports and may ask questions of city, county, state and federal official’s representatives.

Pacific Beach YMCA Background:
Since 2009, Pacific Beach Middle school and the YMCA have been working to turn a gravel multi-purpose yard at the school into an aquatics center. The plan is to have the district pay for the construction of a new athletics field and parking, and to have the YMCA pay for the construction and maintenance of a new aquatics and community center. After talks began on the Pacific Beach effort, officials with the district and YMCA found a common need, and the “Pools for Schools” program was born.

City Council – Smart Growth and Land Use Committee MeetingWednesday, April 22, 8:30am to noonCity Administration Bldg.202 C Street, 92101(12th Floor, City Council Chambers)

This City Council Committee needs to hear from residents about how vacation rentals impact our community and our quality of life, and how we want them regulated.
The Committee will be discussing and voting on ways to regulate short-term (less than 30 days) vacation rentals. This Committee is composed of 4 Council Members: Chair Lorie Zapf, David Alvarez, Todd Gloria, and Scott Sherman. This is the beginning of a process that will eventually result in proposed ordinances being brought to the full City Council.

We know it’s a hardship to take time off from work to attend a meeting like this. However, it is really important for City Council Members to hear how vacation rentals affect us and the community. So, please come to the meeting and bring your neighbors. If you cannot attend, please make sure to email your comments to City Officials.

Email your comments to the Mayor, City Council, City Attorney and Liezl Mangonon (Lorie Zapf’s aide), and keep sending comments in the weeks and months to come.

Pacific Beach Town Council MeetingWednesday, April 15, 6:30 pmCrown Point Jr. Music Academy (4033 Ingraham St.)

The April PBTC meeting will include presentations on both sides of the short-term vacation rental issue and PBTC members will vote on proposed regulations.

Vote results will be submitted to the City Council’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee, at their April 22nd, 9am meeting, where a potential City ordinance will be considered.

PBTC members of at least 30-days are eligible to vote. We encourage all concerned PB residents to join the PBTC, not only to vote on important issues, but to support the PBTC in their continued efforts to improve Pacific Beach.

City code does not allow “visitor accommodations” in residential zones, but the City says short-term (<30 days) vacation rentals are not “visitor accommodations,” and therefore ARE allowed in residential zones?

The home next door to you can turn into a “mini-hotel” and there is nothing you can do about it?

In 2007, Pacific Beach had about 100 vacation rentals, now there are over 1600?

If you are concerned about these issues, please check out an important new group: SaveSanDiegoNeighborhoods.org believes that Neighborhoods are for Neighbors!

SaveSanDiegoNeighborhoods.org was recently formed by a group of residents from Pacific Beach, Clairemont and La Jolla, who want to protect our neighborhoods and communities from the negative impacts and rapid proliferation of short-term vacation rentals. This problem is affecting all of San Diego, not just the beach areas. Residents from Mission Hills, Point Loma and Ocean Beach are also organizing their communities in preparation for the April 22nd meeting of the City Council’s Smart Growth and Land Use Committee, where regulations for short-term rentals will be considered.